We may not always have agreed with the liberal activism of Fullerton’s Ralph Kennedy, but there’s no doubt that the engineer-turned-civil-rights-activist was the real deal – a committed believer in social justice who was willing to take unpopular stands on behalf of the causes for which he advocated.

In its obituary of him in 1998, the Los Angeles Times wrote: “He was one of those rare people who saw things as they should be. He wasn’t willing to sit in his comfort while others in the world were suffering. He always felt like he needed to dig in and do something to bring about justice, to take action, to risk his own comfort in order to make things better.”

But Kennedy’s two children – Sharon Kennedy, who is publisher of the Fullerton Observer, which Ralph and his wife, Natalie, founded in the 1970s; and Rusty Kennedy, head of the Orange County Human Relations Commission, which claims to advocate for concepts similar to those advocated by the elder Kennedys – are frauds. Their actions (or inaction, really) following the brutal slaying of Kelly Thomas by Fullerton police thugs shows how they have become lapdogs for the political establishment, which is the very opposite of the behavior displayed by their Dad. Unfortunately, modern liberals usually defend government power and abuse — they don’t stand up for the poor and downtrodden any more.

The Observer has run various news stories about the Thomas killing at the hands of cops, but the stories read like articles hatched in the Fullerton PD’s press department. There is no sense of outrage and an unconscionable reliance on official explanations and official sources. (It’s as if Ralph Kennedy, known as a crusader against housing discrimination, took at face value the official government explanations of why black folks were treated as second-class citizens in the old days. “Don’t worry, folks, Gov. George Wallace and his able team of government officials will get to the bottom of it!”) The Observer, promoting the lame efforts of Rusty and his commission, runs a story that declares: “The Orange County Human Relations Commission is responding to community requests for help in the tragic beating death of Kelly Thomas. On behalf of the Commission, Rusty Kennedy endorsed the idea of an outside, independent investigation of police practices and procedures in the case and more broadly across the department. He gave City Manager Joe Felz an evaluation of Michael Gennaco for the LA County Office of Independent Review. The Commission has worked with Gennaco in hate crime cases and most recently in setting up an OIR in Orange County, which is now staffed by Stephen Connelly, one of Gennaco’s proteges.”

The Observer and Kennedy should be denouncing this brutal attack as a hate crime and staging sit-ins and other demonstrations. Instead, they are joining the official whitewash and telling us to trust these not-so-outside investigations. Connelly has not produced a single serious investigation since he became the head of the supposedly independent commission that operates basically at the behest of the Sheriff. You might as well ask Dick Jones to produce an outside investigation.

Fortunately, this blog is filling in the role that lapdog players such as the Fullerton Observer play. Fortunately, Orange County residents are starting to learn that the Human Relations Commission is a way for limousine liberals to live large on other people’s money while pretending to stand up for the principles that true liberals such as Ralph Kennedy actually stood up for.

Rusty Kennedy has to play nice with the cops so they will write letters of support for his lame-ass commission when budget time rolls around at the County.

His idea of a hate crime is white trashers and skin heads burning crosses in Anaheim Hills.

Naturally, like all the boohoos he will tell us that the resolution of the “tragic” incident is better love training for the cops who are really just victims of their own ignorance of how to deal with mentally ill homeless folks.

WRONG! The murder of Kelly Thomas by the Fullerton Six was not the result of ignorance, but of six animals intent on mayhem.

Can you picture Jay Cicinelli in the front row of Rusty Kennedy’s love-in for the homeless??!!

The wide spread govt ass-kissing, kronyism and nepatism gets me-constant mentality of “do this for me, and I’ll do somethin special for you” to the point of anything goes-even murder, and everyone seems to be in bed with each other.

This is my govt doing this, my tax dollars are going to those who practice this daily and get greedy private sector involved or vise versa-
So nobody cares or stands up for the Kelly Thomas’s, or just plain folk, like me and you, who arent in their special circle.

Especially disconcerting are the comments aimed directly at Ron Thomas-he optimizes the term “grace under fire” I, personally, have nothing but respect and admiration for this man-under the circumstances he has shown nothing but constraint and patience to those who dont deserve it and with all he has endured and continues to endur, stands and speaks out bravely. I hate those particular comments-they are evil, hateful and dont accomplish a thing other than hurting a daddy who has had to bear and continues to bear more than most could in a lifetime. Where is the concern for him and his family?

Ouch indeed! If I can’t trust my Observer, then who’ve I got left? It hurts to hear this information. I’d say this tragedy is opening the eyes of (some of) the citizens in this city. People don’t pay nearly enough attention to what’s going on in their City Gov’t. I didn’t know my city leaders were so inept and corrupt.

I thought Rusty Kennedy’s tax payer supported Orange County Human Relations commission turned a blind eye to the Kelly Thomas hate crime because retired Fullerton police chief and current Fullerton city council member, Pat McKinley, is or recently was a member of this same commission. Rusty Kennedy has had a professional relationship with McKinley and possibly a genuine friendship. Oh well, I guess it is more important to rant and rave over swastika graffiti spray painted by juveniles on a school’s bathroom walls than fretting over the beating death of a homeless, schizophrenic by the Fullerton police . Just because Kelly Thomas was targeted by the police due to his disability, and Rusty Kennedy’s OCHRC colleague, McKinley, was responsible for hiring and protecting these same rogue police officers , it still doens’t spell hate crime. Now, a 12 year old writing a racial epithet over a urinal, that’s a genuine hate crime determined by Rusty Kennedy, executive director of the Orange County Human Relations Commission;another fine example of our tax dollars hard at work for us?

Worse, I can imagine all six of these police officers directly responsible for the death of Kelly Thomas, engaged in a “listening session” in a Rusty sponsored living room chat and then afterwards, Rusty and his new friends will transition to a digestion session by having cookies and milk in Rusty’s kitchen because he wouldn’t want the crumbs to fall on the carpet in his living room chat place. I firmly believe the character on MADTV, Rusty Miller of CSU Fullerton, is taken from this Rusty. Michael McDonald, the creator of Rusty Miller has captured Rusty Kennedy’s dorky demeanor and mannerisms.

EVERYONE IS FORGETTING WHY THE THUGS WERE AFTER THE POOR HELPLESS HOMELESS YOUNG MAN JUST FOR BEING IN THE AREA OF A LOCAL BUSINESS THEY SET HIM UP WITH FALSE CHARGES JUST BECAUSE THEY DID NOT WANT HIM NEAR THEIR BUSINESS. EVERYONE SHOULD BOYCOTT THE SLIDER. HOMELESS PERSONS ARE HUMAN MORE SO THAN PEOPLE WHO JUDGE OR DO NOT LESS FORUNATE NEAR BUSINESSES. JUSTICE FOR KELLY……………………..

Grover, his son Rusty Kennedy said in his father’s obituary PUBLISHED in 1998, in the Los Angeles Times “He was one of those rare people who saw things as they should be. He wasn’t willing to sit in his comfort while others in the world were suffering. He always felt like he needed to dig in and do something to bring about justice, to take action, to risk his own comfort in order to make things better.” The gist of your article is correct except you ruin it when you mislead by giving the impression that the objective eye of the Los Angeles Times believed Ralph Kennedy was an activist who fought for justice. The truth stands the test of time, and time unmasks, along with Google, unmasks fraud.

“There is no sense of outrage and an unconscionable reliance on official explanations and official sources.”

And there you have it.

John and Ken talk about this all the time. Honest-to-God reporting is rare these days — especially when it comes to a story as explosive as Kelly’s. Most of the time, the SoCal newspapers (pick one, from San Diego to Sacramento) are content to obediently scribble down whatever the spokeshole of the moment “officially” says.

Had they not beat him to death, Kelly would be alive right now. It’s that simple. All this “waiting for the facts” shit is just that. Shit. Kelly was murdered by the FPD.

(Kelly died on my birthday. Irrelevant to everyone but me, I get that, but I’ll never forget it.)

So now, the FPD and their protectors are in balls to the wall CYA mode because they know full bloody well that they are in potentially serious trouble, big time. They will say anything, do anything, attack anyone and lie their collective ass off to save themselves.

It’s frustrating, but this is the system we’re stuck with.

I am so grateful that we have alternatives. This wasn’t always the case.

WE are the primary alternative. Thanks and praises to FFFF, the civilian protesters, KFI 640, and everyone else who is keeping this outrage alive and in the public eye — all across the world.

Justice for Kelly won’t come anytime soon. This will be a long fight, but it’s well worth fighting for.

Looking at their latest edition, I would say that covering the Kelly Thomas beating was nothing more than an inconvenience to be tossed aside… to make way for the Observer’s campaign against Coyote Hills development.

Kelly had more friends than his lifestyle would suggest. And there are plenty of us who will never forget, nor give up this fight. Regardless of how long this circus act that the council/FPD/DA/Coroner ends up dragging it out.

Speaking of John and Ken, what happened to them?
They were covering this story really well and poof they’re gone! I don’t remember hearing them announce they were going to take a vacation, in fact, I thought one of them had just got back from a vacation….anyone?
No one is talking about his, they were all over his story, what happened?

John & Ken have received three weeks off with pay thanks to the UNION CONTRACT!
opps, guess they didn’t want you the taxpayer to know that!
truth is that YOU THE TAXPAYER pays every dime of the $2.5 million salary of john and ken!
how? all radio stations use YOUR AIRWAYS! did you forgat that? John and Ken who HATE GOVEERNMENT GIVEAWAYS don’t have a problem with the big bad government giving them FREE AIR SPACE!
want to balance the budget? we can today. Simply tax radio and television stations for their USE OF OUR AIR SPACE!

So, helen maybe you need to be taxed for the air you breathe, its my air, I pay for it.

The contract J/K have are not GOVERNMENT union made contracts, they are of the private sector-and thank God for them, they are bringing everyone the truth and have brought awareness to the Kelly Thomas case, I think its money well spent and they are entitled to take vacation and have a decent salary.

I agree with your observation. The Fullerton Observer titled the beating death/hate crime/horrific civil rights violation as “Downtown Death Investigated” . The FO cares more about the plight of coyotes and plant life than those pesky humans with disabilities and no home.

Once again this blog has hit the nail on the head. I am a democrat, I care deeply about social justice. I am sad to say these non-profits have become self-serving rackets that use poor people and through them under the bus when they are no longer any use to them. I know because I was tossed under the bus by OCCCO. I have had some dealings with the OC Human Relations…I was desperately trying to get help on the issue of sub-standard housing. They offered to do mediation????That implies to me there is something to discuss and work out…I lived in a place where we had no hot water for weeks and no water at all at times. What were we supposed to discuss and work out? Was I supposed to mediate, the amount of days I had no hot water??
I worked directly with OCCCO as a “leader” for 5 years…the first organizer was great and together we gave the city of fullerton fits, but he moved , and the following 5 organizers I tried to work with were total goofballs…that couldn’t care less about social justice. One of them had another job that OCCCO didnt even know about. They were all just looking for a comfy cooshie job …they only wanted to pick low hanging fruit issues so they could pile up their accomplishments to their donors. They loved to piggy back on and take credit for issues that were going through anyway. They always trotted me out to their donors and auditors to go in and embellish my accomplishments. After the good organizer left, everything fell apart…I had to move to keep my head attached to my neck..then I was of no use to them…the year before, they gave me an award for being their most dedicated volunteer . the next year they called me a quitter.
Look at their website, its all a bunch of weasel words….,agreements to continue to establish a dialogue to have a dialogue to continue to make a commitment to continue to have a dialogue blah blah blah BS!!! All of the non-profits defend each other, they are all on each others board of directors…and they all have award banquets , where they pat each other on the back….while serious issues go untouched less, they ruffle feathers with the powerful people they have BS meetings with to get their funding.
Out here in Palm Springs OCCCO’s branch out her is called ICUC,they are just the same, they participated in a tenant survey I got set up at a low-income complex with the Fair Housing Council….the FHC with the manager cherry picked the tenants to survey to get best results. I complained about the cherry picking which the organizers participated in and they gave me nothing but BS answers…
I am chronically ill and my brain is in a fog, I hope I have made my self clear here and you guys have a clearer image of self-serving non- profits from my post…keep up the good work!!

I think that the inclusion of a law enforcement member in the position of commissioner is a systemic flaw of the OCHRC. In fact, that was subject to debate when it was founded decades ago (on the basis of police brutality and misconduct, in particular against the black community in Santa Ana) Others would argue, then and now, that inclusion improves avenues of dialogue, policy changes, etc. I feel that aspect of the structure should be reformed. However, unlike others, I don’t think the entire commission should be shelved.

For all the talk about Coyote Hills, interestingly enough, one of the corporate sponsors of OCHRC’s annual awards event is Chevron itself.

I noticed at Stater Bros on Euclid that there was a Save Coyote Hills volunteer posted near the store entrance who was gathering signatures under a sign saying that his petition was to retain parks here in Fullerton? Being as we’re already woefully underserved by parks here in West Fullerton, this seemed like a deliberate attempt to mislead registered voters on the west side of town into thinking they’re saving a park instead of curtailing a development of homes.

Reading all this, from the outside looking in, leads me to the conclusion that Fullerton is one sick town. We know from a previous post that half of it is designated gang terriroty. Apparently the other half is in a state of social and political chaos. Perhaps it is time to test the water to see what is causing it. And, yes – I know – since I don’t live there I should keep my opinions to myself.

John and Ken are taking their well-deserved summer vacation. They’ll be back on the 24th, I think.

They are driving this story in SoCal, along with FFFF, KTLA (sort of) and the citizen protesters.

Stay on point, don’t let the blue meanies misdirect you. This is a fast-moving blog; lots of baloney and trash-talk flying around at any given minute, but there are some very good writers contributing to the discussion. I’ve never seen anything like this, ever. And I’m old.

Well, Judith, now that you stand corrected, where would you like to next point your finger?
Fullerton cronyism?Fullerton RDA? Or protection of Fullerton council member/ex-member of OCHRC by the current members of OCHRC? And since you bother to defend Sharon Kennedy’s FO, defend the FO’s lack of zeal to try the death of Kelly Thomas in her faux newspaper?

Fullerton Stories, The Register, and now the Observer. Is there anyone you haven’t taken a shot at. If someone doesn’t tell the story the way you want it told they get your wrath. It’s getting old. By the way….. Sharon Kennedy is no friend of the FPD. She deserves more respect than you give her for keeping one of the last independent community papers alive. I applaud you for challenging the powers that be but your bullying of all the other media outlets is not helping your cause.

This incident pales in comparison to any and all of Fullerton’s past. This truly separates the wheat from the chaff. The observer, the register, the times, who needs em? Get with the program. This is 2011. This thing is GLOBAL and VIRAL and is not going away. It is like a reactor emitting neutron beams, they-the stooges can no longer control the cover-up. The emperor has NO CLOTHES.

would you prefer a “listening session” or “living room chat” instead of criticism arising form observations? Children may be bullied or bully because they are immature and thus lack insight and empathy. Adults who accuse others of bullying them or those they like or admire are cowards.

SDLocal, you hit the nail on the head once again. I thought the very same thing when I read the last edition of the Observer. I knew Ralph Kennedy and you can bet he would be coming out with a special edition and he would be right there with the FFFF blog keeping everybody’s feet to the fire on this plus he would be sitting in the front row of every council meeting demanding answers and walking the protest lines with everybody. The thing I hope happens is that Sharon and Rusty take a good hard look at the way they are covering this incident and do what their dad would do and get back to the way the old Observer of the 70′s and 80′s was and be right there with the FFFF blog in holding these people responsible and demanding justice.

How fantastic that the public has finally grown teeth to combat corruption. But where was public outrage for the thousands of cases of police brutality/political corruption before Kelly Thomas’ murder? Why hadn’t enough of us ever cared in those cases? The answer is simple. Motivation. The public hadn’t been motivated previously. But today, because runaway government spending has finally outpaced government revenues, the threat of new taxation to balance budgets simply hasn’t been and never will be an option that the public is going to stand for. And so activism has sprouted up everywhere to combat politicians who refuse to reign in spending — the same as Prop 13 had ended property-tax increases in the 70s. Only today things are a little different. The public has finally wised up to why government budgets are in trouble. It’s all because of runaway salaries, pensions and benefits — orchestrated by corrupt unions that have been exacting revenge ever since Prop 13. And the public is pissed. And what better way to retaliate against thieving public officials than to bring justice where justice is due? This public outrage is not about Kelly Thomas. It’s about hatred for public officials who’ve been robbing us blind for a generation. The public, by helping get justice for Kelly Thomas, is helping itself to its own justice — busting public officials for having not just bankrupted our governments but, also, for having robbed us blind in the process. Ralph Waldo Emerson said: “It is one of the most beautiful compensations of life, that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself.” And it’s open season not just on public officials but on all co-conspirators, such as unions and the press, too. There is so much outrage today, the public is ready to attack any public official who so much as passes wind. It doesn’t matter if Kelly Thomas gets justice tomorrow, the public isn’t going to be satisfied until every culprit at the public trough has been lynched.

Ken keep up the good insight. It is rare for someone to break ranks with the proud and the powerful, our public servants. It seems you left these corrupt agencies and commissions because you have a strong sense of right and wrong.

van get it da artiste :
would you prefer a “listening session” or “living room chat” instead of criticism arising form observations? Children may be bullied or bully because they are immature and thus lack insight and empathy. Adults who accuse others of bullying them or those they like or admire are cowards.

@-Johnny Donut… My guess is you have not a clue the effort it takes to keep a weekly paper up and running. Sharon and her staff of volunteers give of their time and work very hard to keep it going. A coward is one who posts anonymously online……

Bullshit. This isn’t about money. this isn’t about unions. This is about jackbooted thugs in uniforms torturing and killing a homeless mentally ill man. Everybody I talk to around here is PISSED, and nobody is talking about money or unions except a couple of assholes trying to use the comment section on this blog to futher their own anti-union agenda.

Speak for yourself and your own core values and priorities as far as the money motivation.

Though you are right about your Emerson quote in one aspect;
My motivation comes in part from being a parent and the unrelenting fear that if we as a people do not answer the cries for help of people like Kelly Thomas with serious change, the next cries of DAD, DAAAD, DAAAAAD… I hear could be those from my own family.
That is a horror I never want to face, so in that sense, feel free to label me selfish.

Everyone’s opinion matters, including yours, so don’t be such an indignant bigot. If you take the time to read my comments about Kelly’s murder (several dozen over time), you’d know I’m as outraged as you are. But I’ve been curious why only I had been outraged whenever I’ve read about police corruption, going all the way back to Sagon Penn, a victim of police brutality in the mid-80s, who defended himself by killing an officer, then was acquitted, during a time when I was demonized for sticking up for for victims of police brutality. I have thousands of brutality articles on my hard drive. No one has been as outraged as me, and I think my theory is correct. People are coming out of the woodwork because they have an ax to grind. It’s bigotry and hypocrisy that has ruined our public institutions,because bigots and hypocrites had been silent far too long.

OK, I agree. You may be right, and I commend you for your efforts to monitor police brutality. In fact, I’d like to encourage you to make those articles public, maybe by creating a website to store them? Whether or not your theory is correct, we seem to agree on what’s really important here – police corruption and brutality has got to stop!

I think “whatever” one’s motivations, it’s about what we say and do now, a mere man cannot change another man’s heart.
You are right, I don’t speak for you; I respect your opinion and right to speak out for others and for justice.
~no friendly fire from here.

Every case already is public, and there are lots of websites already, too. Just search on “police brutality database.” The Justice Department is going after PDs all over the nation, fed up with police brutality that is out of control. Look for lots of prison terms. I’ve also been outraged by judicial misconduct, of which there are as many cases of abuse. My outrage goes all the way back to Barry Scheck, long before the OJ Simpson trial made Barry Scheck a household name. His efforts have and continue to take innocent defendants off death row and to overturn rape convictions, many of which, as we now know, have been and continue to be fiction. Does the recent execution by the state of Texas of an innocent man sound familiar? How about Mike Nifong, the crooked DA who indicted the Duke lacrosse athletes? These are but two high profiles cases among tens of thousands of abuse matters that have and continue to be perpetrated by corrupt officials. During the French Revolution, the guillotine used by corrupt officials to execute peasants for stealing bread, was eventually used to roll the heads of public officials themselves.

so true, Mudge. The FFFF gives us contention via its sense of responsibility to the public, refusal to let public servants hide the truth from us, exposes misuse of tax dollars, cronyism and demands accountability from municipal government leaders and the Fullerton Observer gives us clown visits the library, save Coyote Hills

Enjoy the ride. Whooaaa! Thr truth will come out and all of you will be exposed. Tony, Travis, and the other 6 of you who blog under multiple user names. How many of you live in Fullerton? Tony, your registered address is NOT in Fullerton.

The Observer hasn’t flexed any muscle in decades. Any sense of outrage was replaced by the a sick mantra that “Fullerton is such a nice place to live.” Well, it can be, but there’s also something very complacent and docile –this town is the unattractive sister of the Stepford Wife.

This blog was born out of frustration of many policies, but mostly due to the lack of complacency and the willingness to turn a blind eye to waste, fraud, a lack of accountability and what should be see as corrupt behavior but is instead tolerated.

i am not happy with the way things are going for kelly so i am asking all o.c residents who are interested in justice to join us saturday to help fullerton city hall know we will not quit until there is justice for kelly…………. we will stop killer cops peacefully of course……………..

and rusty kennedy only started giving a shit about this when it became too public for him to ignore. I know for a fact he was informed of this incident long before the national media picked it up. what did he do? nothing. what good is his OCHR? useless.

someone from OC relations attending the monthly OCCCO meetings I attended from 2006-2008…you know what he did and said during that time span?? NOTHING…never uttered a word…he was just there to get credit for attending a meeting…these non-profits are in a circle scratching each others backs!!!

I can’t speak to this issue, but to me, Kennedy is an empty suit who picks and chooses his hate crimes according to who the perps and victims are. I wrote him a letter in 2008 complaining about anti-semitic hate speech at UCI and criticizing the university admin for turning a blind eye. (I teach part-time at UCI). He wrote back blasting me for criticizing the university, who he said were doing a great job. Then I learned that he had attended the Durban conference that condemned Israel and he also feted Yasser Arafat in South Africa. It all makes sense. (In case you are wondering, no, I am not Jewish. I just support Israel and care about anti-Semitism.)

This year, he gives one of his coveted “Rusty” awards to Muzammil Siddiqi, ex-head of Islamic Sovciety of North America- a Muslim Brotherhood front group.

Even worse, our politically-correct Board of Supervisors refuses to defund this useless organization that sucks up $300,000 a year of taxpayer money.

Rumor is orange county board of supervisors, OC police chiefs and OC sheriff, and OC municipal governments support rusty’s version of orange county human relations commission because rusty deflects issues of police brutality arising within a community, usually a minority community. This may explain why rusty’s snout is the first one thrust into the media when hate incidents(not hate crimes) occur. rusty gives more attention to hate incidents than to Kelly thomas obvious lethal hate crime. it is not the orange county human relations idea that is corrupt, it is its executive director, rusty kennedy, whose leadership has made this commission only a tool. rusty shovels it to the public while shoveling the s*** for the police, orange county BofS and city governments out of public view.